Legislation passed earlier this month requires some school boards in Cook County to act swiftly in a changing landscape related to school treasurers. At issue are “township trustees of schools” offices and their treasurers –...more
On May 23, 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated ruling on whether a taxpayer is required to pay its property tax bill before pursuing an appeal at the Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB). In Shawnee...more
Recent changes to Illinois law will impact the way school districts administer their summer construction projects. The Public Construction Bond Act has been amended effective January 1, 2024, to increase the threshold at...more
Over the summer, Governor Pritzker signed Public Act 103-0394, creating Section 17-1.10 of the School Code. The new law requires school boards that do not receive federal impact aid funding to present annually a written...more
Last month, in the case Carle Foundation v. Dept. of Revenue, the Fourth District Court of Appeals issued its latest decision regarding hospital property tax exemptions. The Court upheld a trial court judgment awarding the...more
Governor Pritzker recently signed P.A. 103-0491 (previously SB 1570) into law, which will allow school districts to enter into design-build contracts—as opposed to the currently available design-bid-build delivery...more
8/22/2023
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Project ,
Design-Bid-Build ,
Design-Build ,
Illinois ,
New Legislation ,
Project Delivery Methods ,
Public Acts ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Request for Proposals ,
School Districts
On Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Revenue released the final 2021 Cook County equalization factor. The factor (sometimes referred to as the multiplier) for 2021 is 3.0027. The tentative factor released in June was...more
On Monday Governor Pritzker signed into law Public Act 102-0895 (Senate Bill 1975) creating Section 18-190.7 of the Property Tax Code, which modifies how certain school districts and other units of local government can...more
On Friday Governor Pritzker signed into law Public Act 102-0519 (Senate Bill 508) creating Section 18-233 of the Property Tax Code, which implements an automatic levy increase to be applied by county tax extension officials...more
Yesterday the Illinois Department of Revenue released the final 2020 Cook County equalization factor. The factor (sometimes referred to as the multiplier) for 2020 is 3.2234. The final factor in 2019 was 2.9160, which means...more
In a recent decision, the Illinois Supreme Court reviewed commonly used contract language regarding the Prevailing Wage Act. This decision should put public bodies on notice to carefully review bid, purchase order, and other...more
Yesterday the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Bill 508 (SB 508). SB 508 creates a new Section 18-233 in the Property Tax Code amending the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) to allow taxing districts to...more
In the next few weeks, Cook County school districts and other taxing agencies will be receiving notices from the State’s Attorney’s Office that the tax rate objection complaints for the 2011 to 2014 tax years are being...more
The Illinois Department of Revenue recently released the tentative 2020 Cook County equalization factor, also known as the multiplier. The preliminary factor is 3.0861....more
After a very difficult 2020, Illinois school districts received a well-deserved present on December 24 when the First District Illinois Appellate Court issued a decision rejecting a tax rate objection and upholding the...more
As reported in Education Week, the U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition to hear an appeal brought by Cook County Treasurer’s office, the Assessor’s office and others challenging a 7th Circuit decision allowing Illinois...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently issued two decisions involving property tax assessments, each being noteworthy for a different reason. One is noteworthy because it focuses on the longstanding legal principle that a...more
The impact of the pandemic on the tax bases of local governments is slowly becoming clearer as the number of retailers filing for bankruptcy protection grows. ...more
For-profit daycare centers have a history of being denied property tax exemptions by the Illinois Department of Revenue. A recent decision from the Illinois Appellate Court upholds another such denial and extends the...more
Last week, the General Assembly adopted legislation that attempts to clarify the power of county boards to waive all or a portion of the interest penalty of 1.5% per month that is normally applied to late property tax...more
5/28/2020
/ General Assembly ,
Interest Rates ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Penalties ,
Property Owners ,
Property Tax ,
Property Valuation ,
Real Estate Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Assessment ,
Waivers
Earlier today the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance declaring that no interest will accrue on the second installment of 2019 taxes, due on August 3, 2020, provided the taxes are paid on or before...more
This week Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced that the County Board of Commissioners will be considering an ordinance at their May 21st meeting to waive penalty interest for 60 days following the August 2nd...more
Several County governments have taken steps to move the due dates for property tax payments or have eliminated the penalty provisions for taxpayers who do not pay taxes on time. To date, we are aware of four counties that...more
Earlier today, April 24, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-31 relaxing a wide number of requirements impacting schools and community colleges. ...more
In yet another change brought about by COVID-19, the Cook County Board of Review is now providing notice of new Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) appeals by electronic mail. ...more